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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. land — ground
  7. race — the arms race
  8. tube — a container
  9. wound — an injury
  10. race — a contest
  11. degree — from a university
  12. land — a country
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. wound — an injury
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. land — to come down
  17. race — humankind
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. tube — the underground
  24. pass — a permit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com